Childsplay founder David Saar named 2016 Shelley Award recipient

Childsplay founder David Saar, who has developed a national and international reputation for transforming the world of theater for young audiences, will receive the 2016 Shelley Award at the 35th annual Governor’s Arts Awards, March 23, at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel, 340 N. 3rd St.

David Saar (Photo courtesy of Childsplay)

The award, named in honor of former Arizona Commission on the Arts Executive Director Shelley Cohn, is presented to an individual who has advanced the arts through strategic and innovative work in creating or supporting public policy beneficial to the arts in Arizona.

Mr. Saar, who will retire from Childsplay this year, founded the professional theater company for children in 1977 and has been artistic director ever since.

Its genesis began during Mr. Saar’s MFA studies when he realized that children could reap great benefits from experiences with professional theater. After graduating, he gathered classmates in a 1967 Chevy Impala, and with basic sets and costumes, began performing in local classrooms.

Today, performing in schools remains a core Childsplay activity with three annual touring productions that visit hundreds of schools throughout Arizona. It is estimated that one in five Arizona K-6 students will see a Childsplay production at their school. More than half of this audience lives at or below the poverty level.

Among Mr. Saar’s most important and well-known work is “The Yellow Boat,” a dramatization of the life of Mr. Saar’s son, Benjamin, who was born with congenital hemophilia and died at age 8 in 1987 of AIDS-related complications.

Hailed as the most important children’s play of the 90s by Time Magazine, it has been performed all over the world and transformed the way we look at theater for our young audiences.

“David Saar’s name has become synonymous with the belief that children deserve to experience the highest quality of performing arts, “ said Catherine “Rusty” Foley, executive director, Arizona Citizens for the Arts.

“And while it may be hard to capture the full magnitude of his influence, not only on children and adults in Arizona, but across the country, we can be assured that his work has helped shaped thousands of lives and has created life-long lovers of theater. That is an incredible legacy.”

The 35th annual Governor’s Arts Awards will recognize individuals and organizations in categories that include: Artist, Arts in Education – Organization, Small and Large Businesses, Community, Individual and Arts in Education – Individual.

Tickets are $150 for Arizona Citizens for the Arts members and contributors and $200 for nonmembers.

Related

Related

Newsletter

Subscribe to the Scottsdale Independent email newsletter

Comments

You are encouraged to leave relevant comments but engaging in personal attacks, threats, online bullying or commercial spam will not be allowed. All comments should remain within the bounds of fair play and civility. You can disagree with others courteously, without being disagreeable. Feel free to express yourself but keep an open mind toward finding value in what others say. To report abuse or spam, click the arrow in the upper right corner of the comment box.

Facebook Comment

advertisement

Click the front page to read the entire latest issue of the print edition.